Gracie
by spikessweetgirl75
Summary: Set in the When Angel's Cry Universe. Jack and Rose have a ghostly encounter during their first Halloween in New York


Rose looked at the map once again, her frustration growing. Jack glanced at her from his seat and frowned. It was their first Halloween in New York together and instead of spending it at home handing out candy to excited children in costumes, they were spending it getting lost to a Halloween party that one of Rose's NYC friends had invited them to.

They had left on time, dressed in their costumes. Rose was Willow from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Jack was Marty McFly from Back to the Future. They both were looking forward to a night of relaxing and socializing and not worrying about their studies for once. Everything looked to be going great...until Jack took the wrong exit on the highway.

Annoyed, Rose looked at the map, trying to find the way back to where they were supposed to be. She couldn't believe that this was happening. She did not want to be driving around the suburbs of New York, looking for the way to her friend's house. She wanted to be at that party already, sipping on some drink and dancing the night away, forgetting about the big paper due on Monday. Instead she was in this car, looking at a map that she had no idea how to read, and wishing that her boyfriend would just find a gas station and ask for directions.

"Do you see the way back to the exit?" Jack asked, keeping his eyes on the road as he tried to ignore Rose's angry glare.

"No. Look, we should find a gas station and ask for directions. The more we drive, the more lost we're going to be. Please Jack..."

"Rose, I told you. We don't need to stop and ask for directions. Just read that map. That's all we need," was again Jack's answer, infuriating his girlfriend even more.

Sighing, she went back to examining the map. Why Jack was being the typical all American male right now, she had no idea, but it was pissing her off. Still not finding anything after five minutes of looking, Rose looked up and gasped to see a pale blond girl dressed in a white dress that looked like something out of the fifties, standing on the side of the road.

"Jack stop!" Rose demanded, her curiousity peaked. Now why would a blond girl be out in the middle of nowhere at this time of night?

"What Rose? Did you find something on that map?"

"No. There's a girl back there by the road and it looks like she's lost. Not that we can be much help, but we should see if we can help her..."

Jack frowned. He hadn't seen anyone, but if Rose said saw someone, she did. Sighing, he braked and placed the car in reverse then backed up and just like Rose had said, there was a rather unhappy looking girl standing by the side of the road. "I'll be damned..."

Jack stopped the car as Rose rolled the window down.

"Excuse me, Miss? Are you okay? Do you need any help out here?" Rose asked.

Rose felt the hair on her arms stand up as the girl stepped closer, giving Rose a closer look. The girl was thin and gaunt and almost as pale as a ghost. Her blue eyes looked to be eternally sad. She looked as if she could have been considered beautiful once...but there was something almost...ghastly about her, but Rose couldn't put her finger on it. She looked at Jack, who seemed to be almost as freaked by the girl's appearance as her.

"I need to go back to town. You wouldn't mind giving me a ride would you?" The girl asked, giving them a toothy grin that made both Jack and Rose inwardly shudder. Jack wanted to just drive away, but that would have been cruel and Rose could attest that Jack was anything but that, no matter how he may feel on the inside.

"We're kind of lost ourselves. We may be more of a hindrance than a help," Rose frowned.

"Oh I know the way, I just need someone to get me there. I think we can be a help to each other."

Rose turned to Jack. As much as the girl gave her the creeps, she at least knew the way back to town. "Jack?"

"Sure, why not?" Jack decided to ignore his own warning bells and reached behind Rose to open the back door. "Hop on in, Miss. We'll get ya to town."

"Thank you. The both of you," The girl slipped into the backseat. "My name is Gracie."

"I'm Jack and this is my fiancee Rose. Excuse how we're dressed. They're our Halloween costumes. We're supposed to be on a way to a party, but we had gotten ourselves lost," Jack explained.

"Oh I thought so. My boyfriend Guy is waiting for me," Gracie smiled, showing off yellowed teeth.

Rose forced a smile and grabbed Jack's hand as she felt another shudder run through her. She didn't know what it was, but something was not right about Gracie. There was something about her that was making her physically ill.

"Are you alright?" Jack looked over at Rose, his own blue eyes troubled. She tightened her hold on his hand and nodded.

"You jump, I jump?" She asked, with a small smile.

"Of course," He grinned, kissing the back of the hand that was holding on so tightly to his own.

They rode on in silence, with Gracie giving directions every now and then. It seemed to be taking forever to get back to town in Rose's opinion. Maybe she should start up a conversation. Make time go by faster.

"So Gracie...tell us about yourself."

Gracie sighed almost dreamily. "I'm getting married tonight. To my lovely Guy. He is from one of the richest families in town, but he doesn't care that I'm poor. We love each other anyway. We've been seeing each other in secret because his parents wouldn't approve of me. They're very...snobbish you can say."

"What century do they live in? Money doesn't matter. It's how you feel about each other. Take my ex. He was rich, but horribly abusive. I left him. Luckily I found Jack...he may not be rich, but he's the kindest, most loving boy in the world. I wouldn't trade him in for any amount of money," Rose sighed, smiling at her boyfriend, who just blushed at the praise.

"His parents wouldn't agree. They hate me. They'd probably kill us both if they knew what we are both planning to do," Gracie frowned.

Rose looked in the rear-view mirror and frowned. She blinked her eyes a few times. She could have sworn that Gracie's face had turned into a grinning skull then back into a face of a normal girl. She sighed. This holiday was getting to her. Gracie was just a young woman, going to meet her man so they could be married. There was nothing strange about that, and her face certainly hadn't changed.

"Now you know all about me. How about you tell me about yourselves? You two are obviously together. What is your story. I love nothing more than a good love story," Gracie grinned, again her face looking more like a skeleton than that of a normal girl.

"I don't know where to start," Jack gave a hesitant chuckle, not really wanting to share their story with a stranger, even though something inside him screamed that it was important that he did.

"Start at the beginning..."

So together, Jack and Rose told their story, from Jack helping Rose when she had needed it most to their starting their life together in New York. By time they were done, there was a serene smile on the girl's face and Jack was just pulling into town.

"Oh I like your story. I like it a lot!" The girl's grin was maniacal...almost insane. "So lovely. You two must always stay together. Forever. Oh stop the car! This is my stop!"

Jack frowned. "But this is the middle of the city..."

"Jack stop the car," Rose simply replied, not able to take it anymore. She wanted the girl gone.

"Okay, okay," Jack rolled to a stop and watched as the girl got out.

He and Rose looked at each other as the girl dashed off into the night, leaving them both with a clear sense of relief.

"What the hell?" Jack asked, confused about all of what had just happened.

Rose shrugged, not wanting to think too much of it. "She was just a very strange girl. She's probably just homeless and needed a way back to town. Let's just get to that party..."

Jack nodded, driving away as soon as the light turned green, something inside him wanting to put as much distance between himself and that strange Gracie as possible.

…..

Jack and Rose finally made it to the party just as it was kicking into full swing, much to Jack and Rose's delight. They let the atmosphere, music, and food sweep their strange passenger out of their minds. She returned with a vengeance though, later on in the evening.

Everyone began to gather in the living room. Jack found a space on a love seat and pulled Rose down onto his lap as everyone gathered to start telling scary stories. It was Halloween. What would a Halloween party be without ghost stories. Angela, their host, turned on her projector and to Jack and Rose's surprise brought Gracie, just as they had seen her, up onto the screen.

"Jack?" Rose gasped, a shudder again running through her. Even the girl's picture gave her the creeps.

Jack just tightened his arms around Rose in response as Angela began her tale.

"This is the tale of forbidden love gone horribly wrong. Back in the nineteen fifties, there was this girl, named Gracie Ballard. This is her. She fell in love with this rich kid named Guy Pierce. They loved each other deeply. The only thing was, Guy's parents. They disapproved and had forbidden Guy from seeing Gracie ever again. So what do two young teens in love do? They run away to get married. They had everything planned. It was going to happen Halloween night. His parents were supposed to have gone to some party, leaving Guy free to do what he pleased, which in this case was to go marry the girl he loved. Unfortunately, his parents had somehow found out and did not go to that party. Instead, they waited until Gracie and Guy arrived in town at the city hall. Before they could even enter, his parents goons grabbed Gracie and stabbed her to death right in front of Guy. Seeing his love die, he grabbed one of the bloody knives and slit his own throat, thinking that if they couldn't be together in life, they'll be together in death."

Jack and Rose listened to the story with dawning terror. Jack swallowed, knowing there was more. There had to be. "So...what's the scary part of the story?"

"Oh this is good and is a warning to all of the young couples at the party tonight. Don't get lost tonight, guys. For tonight, they say Gracie's vengeful ghost walks the roads just outside of town. If a couple picks her up, she'll ask them to tell their story of how they met. If she likes you, she'll get out of the car when you reach town and you'll never see her again. But if she doesn't like you...if she thinks your love is false, she'll slit your throat, just as Guy had slit his. Sometimes, the bodies aren't even found."

Rose and Jack looked at each other in pure horror, knowing for a fact, that it wasn't just some legend. Knowing that they had just met the ghost and had probably escaped with their lives.

Jack and Rose return home that night as pale as ghosts, barely talking, but clinging to one another, knowing that once again their love had been tested and once again had saved them both.


End file.
